Gardening in October

This is put-my-garden-to-sleep-for-the-winter month... so there is always a sense of sadness as I go outdoors to garden in October. Nights are now slightly frosty, a sign that I have to move my outdoor pots of flowers indoors - where they don't THRIVE as much as SURVIVE until spring comes again!














I started bringing my plants indoors when I had a classroom with a wall of windows, so the flowers bloomed all winter - and I put them outdoors again at the beginning of summer vacation. But I no longer have a sunny classroom. The basement room where I store them (near a window) is never very bright, but they do SURVIVE until spring, when they bloom outdoors again!














I also need to rake up the pine needles that litter the lawn. We've lived in this house for more than 20 years, and this pine tree beside the house was large when we moved in. But a few years ago it began to shed massive amounts of needles in the fall and winter. Is it a sign of healthy growth? A new stage in the life of the tree? The tree seems too healthy to be dying. But it sheds more needles than the other half dozen evergreens we have around the yard.

Last week, I gathered three garbage cans full of needles. I filled another yesterday - in the bare section - and it looks as if I can fill one or two more from what rests on on the ground. (Fortunately the city collects yard waste every two weeks, so it will be composted.)

I also need to trim back some dead flowers - and trees that have seeded themselves in my flower bed.

And before adding them to my big compost heap in the back yard, I should try to dig it out - and move the ready-to-use compost to a pile where I can access it more easily.

So much to do. So little time. Unless a few SUNNY DAYS make October gardening pleasurable, if not FUN!